According to Hallmark, a company whose greeting card statistics I trust, 113 million Mother’s Day cards are sent every year. According to my mother, a woman whose opinions on Mother’s Day I trust, the best Mother’s Day gift is a handwritten card. So if you are one of the 113 million Americans who plans on sending a Mother’s Day card to someone who values it, put it in the mail today to help guarantee delivery (to a location in the lower 48 states) by this weekend.

While I understand many of you Mother’s Day celebrants will simply call mom, send her flowers, or drive to her home and spend the day with her, this blog post is not for you. This blog post is for those of you whose mothers are disappointed when their Mother’s Day card arrives late, and who call you up to say things like, “Now, was that so hard?” when they receive their Mother’s Day card the Saturday before Mother’s Day (as opposed to the Monday after) because you remembered to put it in the mail on Wednesday—not Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. This blog post is also for those of you whose mothers would be annoyed with you for buying next-day postage and mailing the card on Friday because next-day postage is a “waste of money.”

So. If you plan on sending a Mother’s Day card this year and are at all familiar with the scenarios I described above, don’t risk having it show up late. Put it in the mail today. Make mom happy. It’s easy.